Harold F. Cherniss, an Expert In Greek Philosophy, Is Dead

Published: July 12, 1987

Harold F. Cherniss, a specialist in ancient Greek philosophy and professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., died June 18 at the Medical Center of Princeton after a long illness. He was 83 years old.

Professor Cherniss wrote many books and articles in his field and was an editor and translator of volumes of Plutarch's ''Moralia'' for the Loeb Classical Library. His books included works on Aristotle's criticism of Plato and pre-Platonic philosophy.

He was born in St. Joseph, Mo., and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. He received his doctorate in Greek, Latin and Sanskrit at Berkeley in 1930. That year, he became an instructor in Greek at Cornell University.

Professor Cherniss later moved to Johns Hopkins and held a professorship at the University of California before joining the Institute in Princeton in 1948. During World War II, he served in the United States Army, assigned to a British intelligence unit in England, France and Belgium. He rose to the rank of captain.

Professor Cherniss is survived by his wife, the former Ruth Meyer, and a brother, Edward Cherniss of Newport Beach, Calif.